Local arts groups are looking at ways to reach younger generations and the Yakima Valley’s Latino community. All sort of entities advocate programs that keep young people engaged in positive activities and out of trouble at vulnerable ages. So it comes with little surprise that an after-school orchestral music program, spearheaded by a dynamic founder, has found support not only in its target neighborhood school but with officials throughout Yakima.

The student musicians of Yakima Music en Accion, the after-school program aimed at local at-risk kids, made the program’s director cry earlier this year.

They were at a potluck lunch hosted by one of the program’s teachers and the YAMA kids were asked to write one-word answers to complete the statements “YAMA means ____ to me,” “music means ____ to me,” and “music helps me ____ .” When they held up their answers — things like “everything,” “my life,” “family” for the first two, “feel strong,” “be myself” for the third — program director Stephanie Hsu was overwhelmed with emotion.

Known locally as Yakima Music en Acción (YAMA), this El Sistema-inspired nucleo, empowers, inspires, unifies, and instills pride throughout the neighborhoods it serves.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx